The 71st Hunger Games
by flight riisk
Summary: Tris Prior and Tobias Eaton live in District 4 of Panem. Tris is reaped for the 71st Hunger Games, but will she survive so that she and Tobias can begin the lives they've always wanted together? Finnick and Annie appear often in this crossover that provides the love story of Tris and Tobias from Divergent with the adventure and plotline of The Hunger Games.


TRIS-

I stand in the water with my worn, silver trident held taut above my head in my slender yet muscular arms. The cool clear water I'm standing in laps rhythmically at my waist, pushing its way past me to the shore where it slaps the light brown sand, creating a noise more familiar to me than my own voice. I see the familiar glint of purple streak past my feet and I quickly thrust my trident down into the sand beneath me, feeling the rewarding thud of flesh that lets me know I have speared a fish. I briskly lift my trident from the water, sending cool water droplets racing down my arms as I examine my bounty. An Omcilite fish about the size of a loaf of bread sits at the tip of my spear heads awkwardly, its purple blood trailing down into the water. Omcilites are muttation fish created by the Capitol to increase productivity in District 4, where I live. Not only are they packed more thickly with nutritious meat than any other fish, but their skin is specifically designed to become as tough and pliable as leather once dried. I have Omcilite skin wrapped around the handle of my spear, an Omcilite belt and countless Omcilite nets that I use daily. Omcilites are probably the only good thing that the Capitol has done for us.

I look up at sky, shielding the blazing, white sun from my eyes with my hand. It must be around 2:00 in the afternoon judging by its position in the sky which means I should be heading back to meet Tobias. I wade through the thick kelp, quickly spear another Omcilite and then grab ahold of my canoe that I anchored to the ground with a large rock. I grasp the thick edges of the worn wood of the boat with my pale hands, and push my body, net of fish and all, into the wobbling canoe. I set my trident carefully on the floor of my canoe, then remove my net filled with bloody fish and slap them one by one into my crate. 35 fish. Pretty good for an 8 hour day, especially given that it's hard to think of anything at all when tomorrow will be the reaping.

I shiver at the thought of my name being called from that ominous glass bowl tomorrow. My thoughts quickly transfer to Tobias, and what I would do if his name got called, and what he would do if mine was called. I breathe heavily and force myself to lift the anchor up into the boat with me and then begin to paddle backwards, letting the waves push me to the shore.

I pick myself up as soon as the worn wood of my beloved boat touches the sand. I grab the rope handle at the tip and heave the canoe up to the palms at the top of the shore. I tie it carefully to the palm tree I've tied it to for the past 10 years. I used to worry that people would steal it, but now that it's so worn by sun and covered in fish guts, I don't think that robbery is a viable concern. I gather my trident, oars and crate of fish. I fling my net bag over my shoulder, and make my way up the beach in my bare, callused feet.

I walk for about ten minutes before I see him. He's just a dark figure with the sun at his back from this far away, but I know it's him. I have him memorized. He's standing, his muscular body relaxed as he tide pools in the rocks. Tide pooling is his favorite pastime, but he would never admit that to Uriah or Zeke. They think he spend all his time surfing or spearing fish, but really, when it's just him or just us, he can't resist looking for a crab or two in the warm pools of water in the rocks.

As soon as I'm close enough to him, I set my things down and call out, "Tobias!" The dark figure turns and smiles at me from the rocks, his white teeth gleaming. I walk more briskly now until I reach the cobalt-grey boulders, then I scale up them with my hands and feet. The sun is so hot that my clothes are almost dry, but I can tell he's been in the water recently because his dark hair gleams in the sunlight with salt. He walks towards me with a smile that's so sincere and so him that my smile follows so naturally. He reaches out his tanned, muscular arm and spreads his massive fingers out, beckoning for my meager fingers to lace with his.

"I missed you so much, Tris." He says as he pressed his lips to my forehead.

"I'll bet I missed you more." I reply in a flirting tone.

"Impossible!" He counters. Then he moves his lips from my forehead to my lips, kissing me with the taste of the ocean. I kiss him back and he unlaces our fingers so he can press his warm hand against the small of my back, pressing my body into his bare, strong chest. I wrap my arms over his shoulders and run my hands through his coarse hair.

After a few more minutes of this, we pull away and I smile at him. "I love you quite a bit." He says his dark eyes sincere. "I love _you _quite a bit!" I reply, pecking him on the lips. He grabs my hand again and we start to walk across the rocks, talking of inferior things like how the other person is doing to avoid talking of more pressing matters-like the fact that the reaping is tomorrow and my name is in the bowl 30 times and his name is entered 54 times.

I never thought I would be the type of girl to fall so head over heels for a boy, but I had never known that there was a Tobias out there. Dating in District 4 is generally difficult and pointless, given that the activities available to participate in range from fish-gutting to net weaving. Because of that most teenage girls just end up pregnant around the age of 16, and seem to not stop getting pregnant until they've birthed at least 6 children. Tobias and I aren't like that though. There's physical attraction between us, of course, but there's a far deeper level of emotional attraction than I had never imagined being able to reach with a person. Also we've agreed not to have sex until we're sure we have a stable life for the children we could bring into the world, and right now, the possibility of being entered into a fight to the death is not our idea of a "stable life".

This is Tobias' last year that he could be in the Games, but since I'm only 16, I have 3 years of eligibility left. District 4 is fairly good at producing victors from the Hunger Games, the most infamous being, of course, the dashing and charming Finnick Odair. I've seen him probably 10 times in my life, because my mom is friends with his girlfriend, Annie. Annie is another victor. She and my mom grew up together, and they are still very close, but after the games Annie was in, she became overcome with anxiety and panic attacks. She doesn't come over as much anymore because she doesn't leave her house without Finnick at her side, and Finnick is always off doing things in the Captiol. They are so in love, though. You can see it even if you're yards away from them. I wonder if people can see what Tobias and I have in the same way.

I'm whipped back into reality when Tobias says, "Tris, want to go surfing tonight?" "With _you_?" I say with sarcastic disgust. He smiles,"Yes well, _me_." I fake a shudder and he squeezes my hand lovingly, then continues, "as well as Christina, Will, Uriah and Marlene." I smile pleasantly and reply, "I would love nothing better."

We spend at least another hour at the pools, scooping up the occasional sea cucumber or crab for dinner. Soon we both have to leave, and we hug for a long time and kiss each other good-bye. "Meet us at my place at 8 tonight." He says before we part our separate ways. We both look back at each other and wave and blow kisses until we're out of each other's sight. I gather up my things, then cut through the forest of palms to the small cluster of homes where my family and I live.

I see my house, a bamboo square-shaped hut with a thick straw roof that does not hide very well that it's falling apart at the seams. It fits my family of 4 snugly, to put it lightly, and I yearn for more space to myself. I'm an introvert. All around the houses in my meek neighborhood are dried fish bones, abalone shells, oyster shells, Omcilite skin scraps and lots of sand. My house stands out from the rest because my mother has a knack for making things once ugly become beautiful. She says that's what she did with my father. Our house is decorated with pieces of Mother of Pearl and the sparkling skin of the Omcilite. My mother always keeps it tidy despite our disposition. That's something beautiful about her. Despite the bad, she can always somehow see the good in things. I see things for what they are, and very seldom things are good. Except for Tobias. He's always good.

I come inside just in time to see my family sitting down for dinner. Omcilite bone soup and a sweet seaweed salad. Both items made of things my dad probably collected from the ocean today. We work separately in hopes to cover more ground, but both of us spear fish. My brother, Caleb, works in the fish market, trying to sell the fish to customers because he's smarter and more likeable than the rest of us. My mother usually weaves nets and sometimes, when she finds pearls or pretty shells, strings necklaces. She also creates intricate fish hooks. She taught me to make hooks too but I prefer my trident.

I love my family, I really do. But I can't wait until the danger of the Games has passed Tobias and me so I can move into his house with him. He lives alone because his mother died and his father, Marcus, abused him. People don't often get married in District 4 but I think we will. I hope we will.


End file.
